IN-PERSON Manchester Livable Cities
Abstract
Asthma aggravation is related to many known indoor environmental triggers, including nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM), which are emitted when cooking with gas stoves. Home intervention studies have demonstrated that air purifiers with HEPA/carbon filters reduce indoor PM and NO2 concentrations more effectively than ventilation hoods. However, very little is known about NO2 and PM concentrations from using gas stoves and the concurrent reduction in both pollutants when using air purifiers. We evaluated these hypotheses: 1) the use of HEPA/charcoal filtration decrease NO2 and PM levels from cooking in homes with gas stoves; 2) reductions in PM and NO2 improve respiratory symptoms and reduce health care utilization in asthmatic older adults; 3) adding the typical multi-trigger environmental and educational interventions conducted further improve respiratory symptoms and reduce health care utilization in older adults with asthma. We completed intervention in the homes of 71 low-income older adults (ages 55+) residing in public and private subsidized housing. Health assessments included collecting data on respiratory health outcomes pre- and post-intervention (questionnaires on symptoms, asthma control, quality of life, medication use, and doctor/ER/hospital visits). Environmental assessments included evaluation of PM and NO levels, asthma trigger activities and exposures pre- and post-intervention (questionnaire, home survey, environmental samples). Results supported show that HEPA filtration interventions significantly decrease NO2 and PM levels emitted from cooking in homes with gas stoves and reduce health care utilization and improve respiratory symptoms and adding the multi-trigger environmental interventions further improve some respiratory health variables in these older adults.
David Turcotte is Research Professor Emeritus/Director of the Healthy Homes program at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. He served as Principal Investigator on several U. S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funded home environmental intervention research grants. His recent HUD funded research evaluates the effectiveness of portable high efficiency air filtration units in improving indoor air quality and reducing asthma symptoms and healthcare utilization among low-income older adults with asthma. David has a Doctor of Science degree in Work Environment Policy/Pollution Prevention.
Khafayat Kadiri recently received her ScD in the public health-epidemiology program at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Khafayat completed her master’s degree in public health from UMass Lowell. She was an Epidemiologist at the state of New Hampshire COVID-19 response unit.
Rebecca J. Gore, PhD, a graduate of the University of NM, is an applied statistician working in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at UMass Lowell. She has experience in regression modeling of various types including robust regression, regression smoothing and mixed and multilevel models. Dr Gore handles database design, data management, data validation, statistical programming and data analytic functions for various occupational health studies and exposure assessment projects and has collaborated on numerous occupational health studies.
Dr. Anila Bello is Research Faculty in the Public Health Department at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. She holds a Doctor of Science degree in Occupational Safety and Health from UMass Lowell and completed her post-doctoral training in exposure science at the Harvard School of Public Health. She has more than 20 years of research experience in quantitative exposure assessment for health and intervention research, monitoring workplace chemical exposures, developing data-driven interventions, and evaluating safer alternatives to hazardous chemicals.
Susan Woskie is an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Public Health at the University of Massachusetts Lowell where she directed the Occupational and Environmental Hygiene Training Program in the Department of Work Environment. Dr Woskie has a PhD in Biomedical Science and an honorary PhD from Mahidol University in Bangkok Thailand. Her research has focused on exposure assessment for epidemiologic studies, the use of biomarkers of exposure and disease, statistical modeling of exposure determinants and evaluations of exposure control interventions in varied environments.
3:30 pm - 5:00 pm
Thursday 18th June, 2026